Evidence-based practice is now a core element of many governments’ approaches to policy-making and social intervention. It has become a powerful movement that promises to change the content and structure of social work and its allied professions. Its emergence has generated much debate and raised challenging questions, however, particularly at the interface of research, policy, and practice.This book provides a critical analysis of evidence-based practice in social work. It introdu...

Why use qualitative methods? What kinds of questions can qualitative methods help you answer? How do you actually do rigorous and reflective qualitative research in the real world?Written by a team of leading researchers associated with NatCen Social Research (the National Centre for Social Research) this textbook leads students and researchers through the entire process of qualitative research from beginning to end - moving through design, sampling, data collection, analysis and r...

Written for anyone beginning a research project, this introductory book takes you through the process of analysing your data from start to finish.The author sets out an easy-to-use model for coding data in order to break it down into parts, and then to reassemble it to create a meaningful picture of the phenomenon under study. Full of useful advice, the book guides the reader through the last difficult integrating phase of qualitative analysis including diagramming, memoing, thinki...

Research is as critical to social work practice as individual and group counseling skills, policy analysis, or community development. Using an approach similar to those adopted in direct practice courses, this book integrates research with social work practice and in so doing, promotes an understanding and appreciation of the research process to social work students.Sixteen case studies adapted from actual events and case files illustrate different research approaches, including qua...

The Second Edition of this best selling textbook continues to offer a simple, systematic, step-by-step guide to doing applied psychology.Using the authors′ own PATH model, the text presents a new methodology for applying primarily social psychological theory to a wide range of social problems.With real-world case studies, end-of-chapter exercises and interviews with leading social psychologists, Applying Social Psychology guides students to define a problem, conduct a theor...

Systematic, practical, and accessible, this is the first book to focus on finding the most defensible design for a particular research question. Thoughtful guidelines are provided for weighing the advantages and disadvantages of various methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods designs. The book can be read sequentially or readers can dip into chapters on specific stages of research (basic design choices, selecting and sampling participants, addressing ethical issues)...

At the clinical, management, and policy levels, the use of knowledge and evidence in health care has become a worldwide priority. The contributors to Using Knowledge and Evidence in Health Care seek to broaden our understanding of the complexity involved in health care decision-making by integrating social science knowledge and exploring some of the challenges and limits of evidence in different health care contexts.Louise Lemieux-Charles and François Champagne have brough...

Autonomy has become a keyword of language policy in education systems around the world, as the importance of independent learning and new technologies has grown.Now in a fully revised and updated second edition, Teaching and Researching Autonomy provides an accessible and comprehensive critical account of the theory and practice of autonomy. Examining the history of the concept, it addresses important questions of how we can identify autonomy in language learning behaviour...

Competence in any profession depends upon an understanding of the theory that underlies it. This concise and practical text for students and practitioners bridges the gap between occupational therapy theory and clinical practice, offering highly practical advice on using theory in practice in a wide range of settings. It considers the nature of professional practice and the need for a sound theoretical basis from which to plan, implement and justify interventions, and investigates the prac...

This textbook, designed to meet the needs of students on the teaching assistant foundation degree, provides an accessible overview of the teaching assistant's role, incorporating practical tasks that will challenge students to reflect on and improve their day-to-day practice.Set within a wider educational context, and full of thoroughly grounded advice throughout, this book includes:personal professional development - helping teaching assistants to understand their ro...

This Third Edition of Doing Research with Children is practical introduction to the process of designing, doing and writing up research with children and young people. At the centre is a commitment to engaging with children and young people as active research participants rather than as passive subjects. In the new edition, you′ll find up to date information on the fast-changing political and ethical debates around research with children and young people a...

The Handbook of Family Literacy, 2e, provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of family literacy of any available book. It documents the need for literacy education for children and parents, describes early literacy and math development within the home, analyses interventions in home and center settings, and examines the issues faced by fathers and women with low literacy skills. Cultural issues are examined especially those for Hispanic, African American, American Ind...